Biden drops out

Biden announced he will no longer seek reelection and endorsed VP Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination. Four Democratic US Representatives, including Marc Veasey (TX-33), had released a joint statement last week calling for Biden to step down from the nomination.

Following Biden’s announcement, Speaker Dade Phelan posted on X: “President Biden’s decision confirms what Republicans have known for a long time: the Biden-Harris Administration is unfit for four more years in the White House.”

Rep. James Talarico said in a KXAN interview: “I think just in the last couple hours, Vice President Harris’ candidacy is energizing Democrats across the state of Texas, across the country.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee

Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of TX-18 died on Friday at age 74. In 2021, Jackson Lee authored the legislation establishing Juneteenth to honor the day when the last slaves in Texas received news of their freedom. The Congressional Black Caucus, which Jackson Lee chaired, said in a statement that she “was a titan and stalwart member of Congress who served the Houston area and our country honorably for nearly 30 years in the U.S. Congress … [she] was a fierce advocate for social and economic justice, national and homeland security, energy independence, and children and working families.”

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Republican House candidate Caroline Fairly’s campaign report shows nearly $500,000 of campaign contributions from her father, a businessman and prolific GOP donor. In a February interview, Fairly said she wasn’t receiving financial help from her father. Fairly recently responded that her previous interview answer had been a mistake, as she had no been aware of her father’s donations at the time. She also said that she took out a loan to respond to attacks from special interest PACs, and that her father repaid that loan.